Ep 2: The Swim | 2023 VinFast IRONMAN World Championship Documentary Special

The annual IRONMAN World Championship special will chronicle triathlon’s pinnacle event, which for the first time in the iconic event’s 45-year history, was hosted in two separate locations when the men raced in Nice, France on Sept. 10 and the women raced in Kona, Hawai`i on Oct. 14.

Thousands of athletes from around the world crossed their finish lines in Nice and Kona, ushering in a new era of the IRONMAN World Championship. The 90-minute documentary special, which delves into the vibrant history and evolution of this iconic endurance event, will continue to showcase the profiles of amazing athletes that have made this annual documentary such a traditionally inspirational watch for triathletes and sports fans around the world.

Your featured athletes include top professionals Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR), Sam Laidlow (FRA), Cam Wurf (AUS), and Els Visser (NLD).

Also, inspiring stories from age group competitors Nadine Hunt (AUS) looks to become the first Indigenous Australian woman to compete at and finish the IRONMAN World Championship; “Top Chef Canada winner,” Dale Mackey (CAN) looks to finish the prestigious IRONMAN World Championship in Nice, France. Cyril Del Pistoia (FRA) was diagnosed with a severe case of acute leukemia in 2012 and was given a very low chance of survival; Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Sara Whittingham (USA) who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the age of 47, races to raise awareness and inspire others battling the disease and to show what is possible for people with Parkinson’s.

90-min pure inspiration. 8 gripping stories. 1 cinematic experience not to be missed 💯

#IMWC2023 #IRONMANtri #AnythingIsPossible #Triathlon #inspiration

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The world championship cores in the starts out with the 2.4 mile Roa swim in the Mediterranean Sea and it is absolutely stunning but it is deceptively Challenging I think the multiple turns on the course will make it a little bit more Dynamic challenging like there’s really no opportunity that you can take a second to like lose concentration it is a difficult swim course there’s a lot of turns but then as you say kind of the the Choy and

Swellings it it changes a lot depending on how far away from the shore you are a lot of different factors that makes it difficult to know where you are and where the other competitors are because of the warmer water temperature wet suits aren’t allowed in the Pras this

Puts the weak weer swimmers on the back foot because the wets suit benefits can really help close the gap from a great swimmer to a good swimmer after an inwater start the course follows two Loops making a sort of m shape before exiting to transition with six turns it’s really Dynamic

Course where you’re really going to have to pay attention to try to stay on the feet of the faster swimmers back here with our men’s raise s lad having moved his way to the front and then Barnaby on his feet curry in third you’re probably

Never going to win the race on the swim but you can lose it and you certainly can overdo it I would expect Matthew marquart to be in there great swimmer I try to be near the front of the swim pack and kind of ride on someone’s feet

Because from years of being a swimmer you know that when you’re on feet you go a lot faster with a lot less energy after a long straightaway last year’s runner up Sam Lelo of France has surged to the front front but right there next to him is American Matthew marquart and Gregory

Barnaby from Italy with yon frino and Curry right on their heels screen there is the bottom of the screen of yo fighting to get I pied it the front there because there was two main people that I didn’t want with us and that was Patrick for his running and

Also his cycling to be honest I think people kind of underestimate how how good he is at cycling and Magnus obviously I would like to go into the bike with a bit of a margin I tried to set the pace quite high without overcooking myself so the swim Dynamic was kind of

Interesting because there was actually a bit of swell and there was actually a bit of chop out the far end which I immediately thought was great because that’s what puts the weaker swimmers or The Not So natural swimmers uh into a bit of trouble and Sam pushed the pace

On the first lap and and I pushed the pace on the second lap and it was Happy Days here this neon green cap of Cameron Worf has lost touch yeah the just kind of started out perfectly almost too perfectly I was in that main swim pack and in a great spot

And then um there was a bit of an acceleration after around 2 and a half 3 km and I was towards the back and I just couldn’t quite hang on here it is De the close of the Roa swim course these men are about ready to hit Solid Ground

Matthew marquart is the first across the timing mat in 47 minutes and 46 seconds then it’s just a string of guys Bren Curry forino Sam ladow Rudy Vonberg Barnaby and Francis CL M the bragging rights are there but I think they’re all happy with the position and when they hear that Gap

They’re going to feel even Happier out transition got out of the water and like next thing I know is in first place I never expected to be in a position where I would be leading a world championship n has one of the longest transition runs we’ve ever seen it’s almost 400 M and the goal at this point is to maintain position and even try to move up some places but just being being super fast and efficient as you get ready for the long ride ahead now get the swim off and then you have to get this and only a minute and 15 seconds

Later the chase group with langa and DLI hits the beach it’s very nice also to be directly on the front for for the bike because it’s difficult to control the race if you are uh on 1 minute 2 minutes after the swim I took the time in T1 to to put my my

Socks on uh AOS socks so that I lost about 50 seconds there even though I set off yeah so a minute back from the leaders I still felt relatively calm like I could catch and especially on this kind of course you know it’s not like there’s going to be a pack that’s

Going to form and it’s just going to it gone I look a lot at what bikes are and and which spikes are already out of transition and and from that I try to get an overview of where people are and I have people out uh when I jump onto

The bike with a Blackboard giving me splits cam Worf is out of the water nearly 3 and a half minutes down from the leaders and is trailed by Frenchman Leon chevier so now we have a bike race underway with a big group of guys including many of

The race favorites all separated by just a few minutes it’s really anyone’s ribs when we get to those longer sustained climbs we’re just going to have to see and while the pren attack those early miles the age group men are Conquering the first leg of this world championship of [Applause] [Applause] Course For many this race represents much more than a test of endurance it’s a testament to resilience to what the human body and mind can overcome when faced with even the most challenging or daunting scenario 16.6 K Andrew here go Andrew go Take serial deloya for example what he has overcome just to get to the start line is impressive then consider what he will potentially achieve today against all the odds stacked against him it’s it’s just incredible And it’s what Iron Man is all about anything is Possible serial embodies the spirit perhaps better than anyone else racing here Today the first question you ask yourself is why just why me what did I do to deserve That can I make it to tomorrow can I make it to the next month can I make it to my 25th birthday I think cancer really gives you that perspective I’m siroya I’m from n in France and I currently live in Los Angeles in the US I was always into sport I played soccer for a few years when I was very young and then I was very much into be my dad used to to be cycling a lot

When he was young so I decided to try to become a cyclist too swimming I loved it but I had zero techniques so I love being in water but it will take me forever just to swim 100 M Tri is starting to become bigger and bigger so I wanted to try there was a few Village in the countryside of that were organizing triathon so I I really loved it the first one it was really good just understanding the ins and outs of the sport the second one uh I

Remember I was getting the trophy for the first in the junior age groups I was just very happy I really like the Sport that’s when I moved to Paris a few years later for college I was uh 24 years old very active I was finishing my Master’s Degree everything was was great and at some point coming back from a long trip I was the weakest I’ve ever been I had no energy I couldn’t do

Anything and uh I want to visit my doctor and when I saw my doctor I saw scar in her eyes we did blood test she sent me straight to the hospital and uh within a few hours they were able to confirm that I had leukemia it is basically a blood cancer

I was kept in the emergency room during the night and in the morning they start very very house treatment we’re going to put you through what we call total body radiation and you will need a bone marrow transplant as soon as I was in the hospital like okay I see what this is

Going the only request I have if you can accommodate that is I would like to have a bike I lost 40% of my lung capacity it really burned your entire body so everything that you think that can be a sensitive tissue a sensitive organ is uh

Is is paying the price so I force myself like every day do like 20 30 minutes on it I know it’s it’s it will be hard turning a bit the legs 5 miles 10 miles little by little I was feeling better stronger I spent about 4 month in the

Hospital Tron was always part of my life but Iron Man was like more like the impossible thing that you could only dream of I was thinking if I can do Iron Man now if I can do something that I wasn’t able to do before I am

Back growing up in Neath Iron Man is everywhere Iron Man we hear about it uh it’s in the news it’s everywhere Iron Man is a part of the culture so growing up in N it was always in the back of my mind when you look at sirel you see how

Passionate he is about sports how active he is how much he loves training and how much he gives it his all that it’s just really easy to assume that it’s all easy for him well he’s thinking this was good but I know I could be better for the first time in history

Like knowing it will happen in in my hometown on the road that I learned cycling like 20 years ago my mom there was still was still living there so I’m very very excited to see her in N supporting me during the race I know she would be there the

Entire time no matter how long it takes me it’s like a dream come true it’s it can’t get it can’t get any Better it really means a lot to show to to the transplanted community and cancer survival community that you can do extraordinary thing and Iron Man is like one of those extraordinary thing that you can do in this World you know and we know the thing about challenging yourself is you’re always looking for what’s next And the love so deep we can Meas a nobody loves me better makes me happy makes we feel this way ain’t nobody loves me better than You introducing the Iron Man virtual series ride the best parts of 12 of the world’s most iconic races from Kona to nce California and Beyond there’s a course to suit everyone see how your time stack up against people in your age group starts November 4 don’t miss out available

Exclusively on fgas register now at full gas.com the vinfast Iron Man World Championship is brought to you by vinfast boundless together Hoka fly human fly Gatorade endurance formulated for farther hyperice move Better the Kona swim course in kyua Bay is absolutely epic it’s like swimming in an aquarium if your aquarium has Dolphins but there is definitely more to this course than meets the eye I think the swim course here is really unique because you’re in the ocean you’ve got the elements there’s quite a lot of currents going on as well if you don’t know how to site if the

Sun’s in your eyes that can actually ruin your race we’ve seen years where higher packs of well-trained Pros are kind of going the wrong direction the athletes must Reserve precious energy as they tread water while awaiting that Cannon blast that signals the start of the race they swim straight out into the bay

To a boat anchored just over over 1,800 M out that marks the turnaround of this 2.4 M Roa swim course then it’s a straight shot baring any currents of course back to shore in recent years Lucy Charles barklay who owns the women’s swim course record has been all alone at the front

Of the swim setting a pace that no one can match but this could be the year that she’s got some company for the first leg of the race and that could really impact the race dynamic that swim could be slightly different there’s probably Lucy and there’s I

Think if I counted to right like six or seven of us that could Bridge or make that Gap smaller there was potential for like a substantial front pack and it was sort of a question mark as to whether they would sound Lucy’s feet or not but Lucy

Made quick work of that and within the first 15 20 seconds clear that she was going to get away Brandon but coming in here and you can see on our graphic Vib number two I was lined up on the start line and I actually felt like a lot of the stronger

Swimmers had opted to go on the right hand side and I was on the left so even before the gun had gone I felt very confident that I was kind of away from everyone and if I could get my normal solid start then they wouldn’t have a

Chance to get on my feet and it felt like that just played out perfectly as soon as the gun went and I just was head down do I do try and get a Gap I figured okay I’ll like start on my own and everyone else can be in the mosh pick I really just wanted my space I I like my space when I’m racing and just like if I have my space I’m good and I’ll just set my pace and then I found a

Group so it worked out but Lucy was Far and Away gone behind Lucy the women had have splinter in a few packs the first being a small Chase group that includes Americans Lauren Brandon and Haley chur about 30 seconds back and then there’s a second group just behind them with some

Of the sports super bikers Daniela Reef the Darkhorse Taylor nib Sky MCH cat Matthews and Annie hog it was a bit chaotic in the beginning and you can’t really overtake everyone and you don’t want to start too hard I saw it was Anna H’s feet so I was

A lot in her feet and it’s it’s always hard to know who is around so I assumed she would have a good swim as well and I felt like I I definitely was in the better position than last year and also in a good group and that helps to relax

A bit and save maybe a bit of energy for the bike the defending Champion Chelsea sadaro and lur Phillip are just off the back of this group I made a mistake in keying off other people people and not being maybe as aware as I could have been you don’t

Know what kind of day other people are going to have and so you can’t worry about anyone else but yourself and you need to make sure that you’re on top of your positioning kind of Road onto my back and looked and saw that I had a gap it

Wasn’t huge I was like well they’re a bigger group maybe they’re moving faster maybe they’ve managed to get back on my [Applause] Feet among the Chasers is bib number 19 Dutch Pro ell’s Visser each athlete racing here has been on their own Journey to the start line and ‘s is no different but her Story of Survival and resilience is truly uncommon make no mistake El’s came here to be competitive but to her this race

Signifies so much more than a world championship lining up on this start line today is a victory in Itself so I went to Bali did my internship and afterwards think I had two months to travel around I decided to make a final boat trip and for 4 days we would explore different Islands yeah it was like super nice for the first um two days and then

At the end of the day we got in extreme weather conditions all the passengers were laying next to each other the guide he came up and uh he said okay everybody awake we’re making water put on put your life jackets on a really big wave came

In and then we were all smashed in the ocean and it was around midnight so it was just like in the pitch dark in the Black Ocean it was cold and finally we get some daylight and we all saw that there was an island in the far distance

And straight away I thought okay I have to go to this island I wasn’t a swimmer by at this point I was there with a women from New Zealand gayen and then from that moment it was just okay we’re going now we’re not going to doubt again

We’re just leaving now and we’re going to swim to this island we had to swim with like our arms to to make forward movement my feet hit the ground and uh we were on the island was very very emotional very emotional and I have very great respect

For her and also for the other uh foreigners who survive and to fight for your life it was such a big trauma I experienced during the those days so say in the end it made me a stronger person and it is like who I am now before I was

Like really focused on the future and now it’s just yeah embracing the moments living the moment shipwreck happened in 2014 then I came back to the Netherlands finished my medical studies and then straight after I started with my PhD in surgery and while I was doing my PhD I

Started doing trial and I would say that the sport was like a really good way for me to process what had happened I set a new challenge for myself I thought I want to finish an Iron Man then 10 months later I raised my first Iron Man in Switzerland

Finished Fort overall I just wanted to find out how how far I could come in a sport but I just give it a try it changed from um having maybe like doing a bit of part-time work to like even less and less and less and then yeah also my

Results started to come in a professional circuit and uh yeah since then I never regret that decision during my first races I could tell myself okay else you’ve been through worse and um an Iron Man is easy actually compared to what I’ve been through in Indonesia so I for sure I can

Finish this race my expectations for the world championships in Kona this year there will be a different compared to my first time in Conan 2019 I’m a different athlete I’m much stronger than I was in 2019 and now I feel like one of them I’m just super

Excited to give my absolute best there and just want to be competitive as well there is one thing about my experience in Indonesia it is that we can go through so much things that we never thought we were capable of and you have like all those doubts like can I do this

Can I make it to that Finish Line isn’t it too hard but I would say just have that yeah really like believe in yourself that you can do it because you can yeah we are capable to achieve like so many things in Life closing in on the swim finish Lucy is still in total control alone at the front of the Race and is Lucy Charles clocking a 49 minute 36 second swim time she is just a minute off of her course record I’m out front now it gives me a little bit of leeway and transition to sort things out get on the bike and not

Be seen so from the gun the game plan kind of was unfolding exactly how I wanted it to next out of the water and leading a group of six are Haley chura and Lauren Brandon Taylor nib is in that group a minute and 40 seconds behind Lucy and about 3 minutes behind her a larger group with Annie H Daniela Reef cat Matthews and American Sarah trueu and Chelsea sadaro I didn’t panic I just thought I have less choices now so the better the

Choices that you make early on in the race the more options that you have later on in the race and I had fewer options than I maybe would have liked but I thought this is still a good Spot obviously I was hoping an would have swam maybe 2 minutes slower or something like that you know not be in the group so so I saw that we were with everyone and it was suddenly like whoo this is a bit weird you know a lot of

Nervous energy people trying to get out on the bike and make sure that they can still see each other because I think like we talk about bike packs quote unquote like in Iron Man which is kind of a strange way to talk about a non-drafting race but it’s because you

Know even with a 20 M distance you still want to be able to see other people out there and get their energy and know where you are in the race so it’s really important then that you get into the right place coming out of transition onto the bike

More than S minutes down Laura philli was not with the group that she needed to be with when I ran through transition where we actually had our bikes I saw whose bikes were already out um and that gave me quite of a good feeling that I didn’t

Have the best swim even though my swim time was actually I think my fastest Kona swim time so not too bad but it was a bit sad that I wasn’t in the group with Kate or Annie and danela so that would have been a better start for sure for the

Bike starting the ride there are 19 Women Within A 5-minute window to leader Lucy Charles among them are past Iron Man world champions and decorated Olympians now on Dryland the game has just totally Reset